hitting one's head? autism's location in the brain?

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i had a total meltdown last night, and started hitting my head, first with both fists, then a heavy hairbrush (after i calmed down i started brushing my hair, then started hitting again)..

i was interested to note that i kept on hitting the same place- about equidistant between my right eye and right ear.

i know hitting one's head is somewhat common in autism- but do people hit them selves anywhere on their head, or in particular points?

is my right frontal lobe in some way related to autism?

or is this simply because i am right handed?

I would say Autism would be found in the personality part of the brain. I don't think that it's in your right frontal lobe (although I am guessing, how would I know ).

I'm guessing it's coz you're right-handed.

AS is usually associated with the frontal lobe: the entire front half of your brain.

A couple of years ago, when I was on the hunt for "what's wrong with me", I looked a bit into brain damage. It turns out that frontal lobe damage can affect personality, for example, sociopaths and sexual deviants have been found to have frontal lobe damage, whether caused by accident or disease. I haven't looked at that material in a while, and of course I have no idea if any of it has to do with autism (other than the research stated that the frontal lobe seems to be the seat of personality).

goat

}:)~

aww. was hoping for a 'yes- autism is thought to be centered there- seems like you're trying a primitave method of beating it out of your body'.

thought i might be onto something!

oh, ok- so i was kind of hitting in the right place after all- thanks.
have a splitting headache still thought, and still am as autistic as ever, so its cl;early done no good.

i was an induced birth, and i know that this (forceps delivery, agsinst mother's wish) is prevelant in a/s- a study a few years ago found about 44% of an a/s sample group had birth trauma such as this, though couldnt say whether it was related. thuogh really- soft skull- nasty metal forceps- its not a massive leap to imagine some kind of link.

its also widely linked to people with 'anger problems', which is SO true for me and two other induced birth friends i know, though neither are a/s- just really cross.

I think you might be on to something actually, what I would suggest now is that you get a simple household drill and drill a hole through your skull and into this part of your brain. might work.

Hmm. I'm not sure. I've only hit my head when i was very very very into a meltdown, an extreme one. I think I hit it about the middle, but i'm not sure. I rarely do it.

I was a forceps baby too. I don't think I was induced, because my mom went into labor while standing in line for a movie, but she did say that the doctor hurried it up;
My mom always pondered whether this was the reason I was such a troubled child.
Years ago, like in the late 80's, there was news of some study linking use of forceps to emotional problems and hypersensitivity in children...after my mom told me that, I thought that was the source of all my difficulties.
I have also had a couple of notable incidents of head trauma.
I was dropped squarely on the head as a child from a few feet up. Also, I was in a moped accident as a small child. We were parking, so the moped wasn't really moving, but I managed to fall off onto my face, and I hit the front of my head on the pavement. Neither of these were bad enough that i received medical attention, but they were memorable for me.

But AS tendancies run in my family, so no telling what effect, if any, the head trauma had.

I don't have anger problems. I have more trouble getting angry when I should be angry.


I don't hit my head when I am in meltdown mode, but I have repeatedly slapped my face.

poopylungstuffing- ouch! you really have had some head traumas!

i just wondered why autistics hit their HEADS rather than arms, legs, chest etc. i have never self harmed, but have hit myself in the head a few times, or banged my head on the floor or wall.
it feels more personal, somehow...

a pyschologist (pre a/s) told me taht being delivered in that way was the route of ALL my problems (anger, hating being around other people etc) as my first experiance of people was an unpleasent one- which is SUCH cobblers- a new born baby wouldnt KNOW they were other PEOPLE!! ! freudians are SO stupid.

but there is anyway widely thought to be a link between it and anger, and a high incidence realted to autism. i imagine it causes some brain damage....

Autistic people do hit, bite, punch, kick all other body parts as well. Including wrists, arms, legs, shoulders... Biting's a big one too, I think. Not sure, but I read/heard so.

Head-banging is just something that toddlers can do well. Same goes for biting.

There isn't much coordination needed for throwing yourself onto the ground and banging your head against the floor as most toddlers do at some point. Compared to that, it's quite complicated to punch their legs in a meltdown. Especially if you're a little kid.

Autism seems to somehow lead to that you can be stuck with the toddler's type of self-injury.

Also, meltdowns are usually the result or lead to an inability to function in certain areas. That means for some autistic people, they do not have the coordination, thought and focus needed to punch their arms or feet in a meltdown.

agrees.
am do all of those SIs mentioned,for different reasons,and had a go at making a 'autistic kit' on own blog the other day:
http://theresidentialautist.blogspot.co ... c-kit.html to show what things help as well as for other difficulties in autism,not finished it though.

misslottie,
if this happens often,long term am recommend getting an ice hockey helmet [the free padded helmets are useless but may find these are enough for self],if also do it against walls/hard objects,get assessed by OT as they can fit the place out with padding,soft mattresses are a good substitute if cannot get an OT.

Autism's probably part of the whole brain.

It affects your sensory processing, so that's all the parts of your brain that take in and process sensory information. Then it affects movement and balance. It affects the way you feel pain and temperature. It affects the way you think and learn. It affects the way you relate to others. It affects planning, inhibition, and attention. It changes the way you experience and express emotion. I think I've just about listed functions from all the parts of the brain here.

Grab an anatomy text, read through the "brain" section, and see if you can find a single part that isn't touched at least a little by autism. I don't think you will.

wow, you guys got me thinking about things I had not thought about in years...

When I was 8 years old, I suffered some pretty decent head trauma while playing football with some neighborhood kids. I was running full speed and tripped over a sprinkler, causing me to fly forward, so that the center of my forehead directly collided with the corner of a concrete driveway. I was unconscious for at least a few minutes, and awoke in a pool of blood.

After an ER trip and some stitches, I went home and everything seemed to be OK. But you know what... I never felt quite the same after that. In my childhood imagination, I used to pretend that the impact of hitting the concrete had released some kind of ultra-potent brain juice that made me a mega-genius and gave me super-powers. I just felt mentally "different". I never even remotely considered that it might have been a mild form of brain damage. I wonder if they did a CAT-scan on my head after that accident? Hmmm?!?!?

Anyways, I also tend to hit my head when frustrated, angry, or in meltdown-mode. Repetitive, never-quite-injurious hitting, all over the head, not just in one spot.

I think that there could be inflammation in the brain that causes some extreme emotional melt downs. This is a good thread because the question is so simple and yet I haven't heard it asked before reading it here. I've hit my head on the top right side only when in distress.
I used to get headaches as a child and I'd lie down and place the right side of my head on the bed and push it down with a pillow to make it go away. I think it has to do with inflammation.

I also agree with Sora's post.

When I hit myself in the head/bang my head on stuff.... well, hitting tends to be in the forehead area, and banging tends to be the forehead-and-slightly-to-the-top-of-head.

I also bite my hands, fingers, and arms (rarely other body parts); beat up my arms and legs (rarely other body parts); flail around, ect ect.

Oh, and I also agree with Callista.